Shell



0. D. LUCAS.

Dec. 19, 1922.

SHELL.

FILED JULY 28. .1922.

Patented Dec. 1-9, 1922.

UNITED.- STATES- 1,439,674 PATENT OFFICE.

OWEN LUCAS, OF LINDEN GARDENS, LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOB T V, M. L. EXPERIMENTAL LIMITED, oF wEs TMINsTER, LONDON, ENGLAND, A BRITISH COM- PAN Y.

, v SHELL.

Original application filed June 20, 1922, Serial No. 569,732. Divided and this application filed J'uly 28,

' 1922. Serial No. 578,167. f

- T 0 all whom it concern:

Be it known that I, OWEN DAVID LUCAS,

a subject of the Kin of Great Britain, re-

siding at 49 Linden ardens, in the county 5 of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Belating to Shells, of which the following is a specification. I

This case is a division of application Serial No. 569,732, filed June-20, 1922.

This invention relates to shells intended to be projected into the air from an unrifled gun on the ground for signaling to or iding aircraft by means for example of a ight or smoke emitting device suspended from aparachute which, with the said device is thrown from the shell by means of-an expelling charge, the said shell being made in three main parts, viz, a base, a nose or head and a connecting tubular body to which the base and the nose or head are connected in such a manner that when the expelling charge is ignited either the base or the nose or head will be forced oif and the other of these two parts will remain connected to the tubular body.

Accordingto the present invention the base or the nose whichever is intended to remain attached to the tubular body is connected to the latter by meansof a portion of the body which is pressed or spun'into a circumferential recess in he base or the nose,.the nose or the base whichever is intended tobe forced oil by the expelling s5 charge is connected to the body by one or more shearing pins, and the base member carries'the igniting device for the expelling charge, which device is ignited by the'flame in the gun barrel.

In order that clearly understood and readily carried into effect the same will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- I

Figure 1 is an axial section showinga form of the invention in connection with a shell of the parachute signal type. a Figu Figure .1

re 2 is a View simllar to showing the invention employed in connection with a shell of the star or smoke pellet v I latter is fired the flash passing throu small hole f in the nut compressed powder pellet F the flamefrom ty%e, and

igure 3 1s a section taken 3 3 of Figure 2f.-

the said invention may be on; the line.

A is the base, B is the nose or head and C is the tubular body which at one end is pressed or spun into a circumferential recess in the base A or the nose or head B and at its other end is connected to the nose or head or to the base by small pins b and bayonet slotsthere being for example three 60. such pins and slots. D is the expelling charge and E is the Bickford fuse-ignited by the igniting or fuse device. The pins bare made of such diameter and material that when the bursting charge is ignited they will be sheared and the body C-will be left connected to the base A or to the nose or head B. F is a cup-shaped gas-check carried by the-base A.

Referring to Figure 1, B is the parachute 7 0 packed within the hollow nose B and C is the container for the smoke or flame producing composition, which container is arranged within' the tubular body C and is connected to the parachute by means of a wire loop 0 and a swivel C To the rear 'of the said container is (a wood block 0 which is recessed at C to receive lead shot. This shot is intended to keep the total weight of the shell constant despite differences in the. weight of the container C fwhen loaded. with different compositions, the quantity of shot placed in the recess varying with such differences in weight. The container C? is separated from the parachute B and from thewood block C by wads andwashers as shown. The rear part of the said wood. block is recessed to receive the expelling charge D which is, ignited by means of the Bickford fuse E arranged in the base A. '90

The composition in the. container 0 is ignited by a quick-match G. When the expelling charge D is ignited, the block C and the container C are pressed forward and the nose B is forcedofi through the intermediary of a wood ring C", the pins bbeing sheared during this operation. The block, container and parachute are thus expelled and the block falls away thus leaving the container suspended 'by the parachute.

The Bickford fuse Ein the base A is ignited from the flame resulting from the ignition of the propelling charge in the gun wheiii1 tlfie e F and igni ing a i which passes to the Bickford fuse E,-

through a small hole f in a plug F" screwed into the base A.

' In the construction of star or smoke pellet shells shown by Figures 1 and 2, the stars orpellets K, K- are arrangedend to end in separate tubes K K of which there may be three for example as shown. These stars one of which is s or pellets are ignited by quick-match leads K so arranged that the stars or pellets are i nited before the are ejected by charges own at D") the start or pellet in each tube that is first ejected being ignited before the other in that tube.

The aforesaid gas-check F for the shell is connected'to the base A by a nut F screwed on the rear end of the casing H This gas-check is made of thin metal and is shaped as shown so that the gases in the'gun barrel force the sides against the interior of the barrel, it being understood that the lat- .ter is unrified. The recess for the Bickford securing said cupped member to the base member, a fuse igniting substance carried within said cupped member securing means, and a passageway in said cupped member securing means, whereby the fuse-igniting substance will be exposed to flame in the gun barrel.

2; A shell comprising in combination, a tubularjbody, a base member, a nose member, and a cupped member constituting a gas check within a gun barrel, means for securing said cupped member coaxially of the base member, a fuse igniting substance carried within said cupped member securing means, and apassageway in said cupped member securing means, whereby the fuseigniting substance will be exposed to flame in the gun barrel.

8. A shell comprising in combination, a tubular body, a base member, -a nose member, a portion of said body pressed into a circumferential groove in one of said members, a shearing pin connecting the other of said members to said body, an expelling charge, a cupped member constituting a gas check within agun barrel, means for securing said cupped member to the base member, a fuse-igniting substance carried within said cupped membersecuring means, and a passageway in said cupped member secur-' in'g' means, whereby the fuse-igniting substance will be exposed to flame in the gunbarrel.

OWEN DAVID LUCAS. 

